Analyst: A post-Jobs era is looming

One Apple analyst is predicting that recent events are indicative of an …

On the heels of the Apple's announcement that Steve Jobs will not be giving the keynote at this year's Macworld Expo, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster is predicting a "shift in leadership roles" at Apple, according to a note seen by AppleInsider. Translation: Munster believes that Apple's CEO is on his way out of the role he has played at Apple since returning to the company in 1997.

While some may speculate that Munster's conclusion might have been drawn from Jobs' previous bout with cancer, his recent frail-looking state, and the pull-out of Macworld, Munster says that this shift is not necessarily indicative of Jobs' health. While he doesn't rule out Jobs' health as the reason for the move, the analyst doesn't make a point of disqualifying it either, saying that a Jobs appearance at Macworld would have been an effective way of reassuring investors about his current health. Munster points to the announcement yesterday, as well as the roles of Tim Cook and Phil Schiller at the notebook unveiling in October, as evidence for what's to come.

After Apple's announcement yesterday, the company's stock proceeded to drop a considerable amount. While Munster doesn't make any recommendations regarding the buying or selling of AAPL, he does predict that the lack of Jobs means no major new product announcements in January. Of course, a prediction like this by an analyst like Munster is only going to lead to unease among shareholders, and will probably lead to a more significant decline in the stock's price despite reassurances that the entirety of Apple's "executive team" is where the company's strength lies.